For the tournament to lose one of the best clay players? - can't agree with that... It doesn't really help Andy either, only that he'll have to face one of Rafa and now Berdych in the SFs (if Novak doesn't withdraw) or Berdych/Delpo if Novak doesn't play. All very tough on clay. Would be great if Andy could somehow reach the final though.

If Djoko pulls out it would mean Nadal is somehow 2nd seed, which is only a positive for Murray. That said, I don't think he'd get past Del Po or Berdych anyway, but they're certainly easier propositions than Nadal on this surface.

If Djoko pulls out it would mean Nadal is somehow 2nd seed, which is only a positive for Murray. That said, I don't think he'd get past Del Po or Berdych anyway, but they're certainly easier propositions than Nadal on this surface.

Definitely - avoiding Rafa for as long as possible is always a good thing. And I guess Delpo and Berdych are prone to early-round losses from time to time so with some luck Andy could avoid them (if he gets to the SFs himself). I would like to see Andy beat a good clay player this year though - a win against either Delpo or Berdych would be great for his confidence.

But I'm probably thinking too far ahead - hope he gets a good draw in the early rounds.

If Djoko pulls out it would mean Nadal is somehow 2nd seed, which is only a positive for Murray. That said, I don't think he'd get past Del Po or Berdych anyway, but they're certainly easier propositions than Nadal on this surface.

I'd like an encounter with Nadal but only at RG. No point meeting him before then. The H2H will get even more one sided and we don't need that.

Both Del Po and Berdych will be quite challenging for Andy, but I think Andy will be able to take it another level this time around.

I wonder if Ferrer is really injured, or if he's just realised he over-did it in the early part of the season and needs a break, or he'll suffer against his better rested peers.

I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic has similar thoughts when trying to decide if his ankle is OK enough for MC. If he has any doubts about his ankle, it would make sense to withdraw. He's had a relatively busy year this year compared with Andy, Rafa and Roger. He does seem to be able to cope with changes to time zones and surfaces fairly easily, but why tempt fate unless you need to. He's comfortably ahead in the rankings, and I imagine his main goal for this year is RG, so he should focus on that.

Obviously, if he withdraws, it's not bad for Andy. Not that they'd be meeting before a final, but if Nadal is #2, it would give Andy a much better chance of making the final. I would fully expect Nadal to be put in the opposite half to Djokovic if both are in the draw.

Ferrer is most likely suffering from exhaustions. He had a very long year last year and this year, he’s played way too many tournaments already, so he definitely needs rest.

Nole, I believe just wants to prepare for the clay season and he’s probably very eager to win RG. I don’t think his injuries are all that serious. He wouldn’t have continued to play had it been that serious in that match. This is probably just a pre-caution measurement to avoid any serious injuries before RG.

Ferrer is most likely suffering from exhaustions. He had a very long year last year and this year, he’s played way too many tournaments already, so he definitely needs rest.

Nole, I believe just wants to prepare for the clay season and he’s probably very eager to win RG. I don’t think his injuries are all that serious. He wouldn’t have continued to play had it been that serious in that match. This is probably just a pre-caution measurement to avoid any serious injuries before RG.

He didn't know how serious it was in the match - they gave him some painkillers which got him through the match.

I wonder if Ferrer is really injured, or if he's just realised he over-did it in the early part of the season and needs a break, or he'll suffer against his better rested peers.

I wouldn't be surprised if Djokovic has similar thoughts when trying to decide if his ankle is OK enough for MC. If he has any doubts about his ankle, it would make sense to withdraw. He's had a relatively busy year this year compared with Andy, Rafa and Roger. He does seem to be able to cope with changes to time zones and surfaces fairly easily, but why tempt fate unless you need to. He's comfortably ahead in the rankings, and I imagine his main goal for this year is RG, so he should focus on that.

Obviously, if he withdraws, it's not bad for Andy. Not that they'd be meeting before a final, but if Nadal is #2, it would give Andy a much better chance of making the final. I would fully expect Nadal to be put in the opposite half to Djokovic if both are in the draw.

As ever, a thoughtful and interesting post. I await developments over next couple of days with interest

Good grief there is no way i am going to trawl the internet trying to find out those kind of stats but what i will mention is that his overall career record on clay is 47-30 so out of those 30 losses there must be at least 10 matches against top 10 player, Rafa a few times, Ferrer a few also, Djoker and Berdych spring to mind, the only match he ever won was against Davydenko.